Stars Align
by risokura
Summary: Awkward teenagers alone together in the space center planetarium. ClayApollo


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Ace Attorney.

**A/N:** Written for the PW Kink Meme. Dorky and awkward teenage space nuggets.

-x-

_Stars Align_

-x-

"Are you _sure_ we're allowed in here?"

Apollo glanced over his shoulder and looked down the darkened hallway behind them. Clay had been leading the way with a flashlight in hand. He scurried along when Clay gave no indication of stopping and grabbed his best friend by the shoulder.

"_Clay_."

"Stop being such a chicken, Apollo. Sol said we could come here anytime we wanted."

"I'm **not** a chicken." Apollo protested, as he wrapped the sleeves of his red hoodie around his fingers, "Clay, it's nearly _one_ in the morning. I'm pretty sure he meant that we could come in here when the space center was in operating hours."

"Well," Clay turned around for a minute and pointed the flashlight at the floor, "Someone has to be awake somewhere in this place, don't they?"

"That's not the point," Apollo pouted, fisting his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, "Why do I always get coerced into doing these types of things with you?"

"Come on, Apollo. You're only _sixteen_. You've gotta be willing to break the rules every now and then." Clay teased, knocking Apollo gently on the shoulder, "It'll be fine. We'll be **fine**."

Apollo looked up into Clay's hopeful eyes and sighed. "Fine. _Fine_, lead the way."

Clay grinned, ruffled Apollo's hair and then turned on his heel and began leading the way down the hallway again.

They were currently stranded at the space center due to a power grid failure in the city's railroad service. As always, Clay was eager to get on the train following the end of the school day and make the trek toward the outskirts of town where the space center resided. It was on that day that Apollo appeared a bit hesitant to make the trek. Something just unnerved him about the trains that day—call it a hunch if you will. However, Clay had dismissed his worries and steered his friend onto the southbound train that would take them out of the city and to the space center.

Two hours at the space center slowly turned into three once Sol brought them around for a quick dinner and chat, and then four when he brought them into the newest planetarium exhibit that the space center had set up for the winter. As they were preparing to leave a half hour later, they found out that train service back into Los Angeles had been discontinued until further notice. Clay could only scratch his head in apology as Apollo silently fumed beside him.

Following a couple of phone calls home and assurance from Starbuck himself, the friends found themselves put up in one of the upper floors of the space center for the night. After tossing and turning for most of the night, Clay threw Apollo's hoodie over the top bunk, sprang up and loudly proclaimed that they were going back to check out the planetarium again. Apollo had initially refused, citing all of the various ways they would get in trouble for snooping around the center at night. But, one pleading look and a gentle nudge of his shoulder from Clay had the smaller teenager breaking down and following his best friend out into the dark hallway.

They had been walking for about ten minutes when Clay finally turned down one last hallway and lit up at the red, neon sign over head, "Ah, here it is. The planetarium."

"Can you even get inside?"

Clay handed the flashlight and the blankets he had been carrying to Apollo and bent down so he could find the handle to the door, "…We need a pass code to get in."

"Okay. Well, clearly we don't have it." Apollo turned around, taking the light with him and started off in the opposite direction, "So let's get back to bed, hm?"

"In the words of your idol Phoenix Wright, _hold it_. Who said I didn't have the code?" He grabbed his friend by the hood to pull him back toward the planetarium's entrance. Clay waved a folded piece of paper at Apollo, turned back to the panel and pushed the seven digit code in. The door beeped and opened a few seconds later, "Bingo."

"How did you even get that?"

"Sol, duh. Who else?" Clay answered, "You can turn the light off."

Apollo clicked the button off on the flashlight and huddled close to Clay as the two of them walked into the planetarium together. After shifting the blankets in his arms, he reached for his friend's hand in the darkness and frowned, "Why did you tell me to turn the light off and neither of us can see anything in here?"

"Be cool, Apollo." Clay chuckled, leading his friend into the center of the darkened room. They entered the clearing and Clay glanced over his shoulder at Apollo who was staring up at the ceiling, "The overhead projector automatically turns on when someone enters the room. Weren't you listening to Solomon before?"

"Sometimes I blank out on the two of you when you talk."

Clay ignored what he said and pulled Apollo in the direction of the platform in the center of the room, "Here, drop the blankets." He glanced over his shoulder, "…You hear that?"

"…Crickets?" Apollo asked, glancing up at the speakers overhead.

"Just like a summer's night." Clay pulled up two sides of the thinner blanket so they could lay it down and smooth it out.

"…Almost like the real thing." Apollo raised his arms over his head along with Clay, causing the blanket to tent in the sky and flutter slowly down to the ground. He bent down to unlace his shoes and kicked them to the side before he sat down on the blanket.

"Well, this is a surprise. Weren't you the one talking about how much trouble we were going to be in if anyone caught us?" Clay teased as he pushed off his shoes and sat down on the blanket next to Apollo.

Apollo turned away from him to gaze up at the automated stars above, "Well, I think we're in the clear for now. So I guess I should enjoy this."

"That's the spirit. Now, here. Grab hold of this."

Clay sat down next to Apollo and pulled the heavier blanket over the two of them. Apollo accepted the other side of the blanket from Clay and pulled it over his lower half. Clay reclined onto his back, looking up at the moving stars above them. It was almost as if they were sitting outside in the warmth of a summer night.

…Keyword, _almost_.

Clay took off his visor and sighed languidly, "This is one of the best things they could have done for the space center. I would stay here forever if I could."

"You tried that already. Remember?"

"Huh?"

"When we were fourteen. You tried to get your dad to let you spend the entire summer sleeping outside."

"And then I had to go to the hospital because of that stupid hornet that gave me hives." Clay sighed, "Ugh, don't remind me. Worst night ever. I never heard the end of it from him."

Apollo chuckled, "What you'll do for your love of space, huh?"

"You're one to talk." Clay nudged Apollo on the thigh, "Still holding into that dream of becoming a lawyer even with everything that happened with Phoenix last year?"

"I still don't believe it." Apollo answered, "Something doesn't add up."

"Another hunch of yours?" Clay asked, "You know, he could have always been fabricating evidence from the very beginning and it just didn't catch up with him until now."

"I don't think so." Apollo shook his head, "There's something everyone's missing in the grand scheme of things. I just know there is."

"Haha, maybe you'll be the one to figure it out and clear his name, huh?"

"M... _Me_? Get real, Clay. Like that'll ever happen." Apollo folded his hands in his lap, "It would really be something to meet him one day, though. I guess I can always hope for that, hm?"

Clay shrugged, but grinned in encouragement, "You never know what could happen." He signed contentedly and closed his eyes, "You know, I'd rather sleep in here to be honest. There's a certain tranquility in sleeping in silence under the stars. Right, Apollo?"

"If you were sleeping in space I'm sure you would be more content."

"Yeah!" Clay sprung to life at the thought of what Apollo had said, "Can you imagine what it's like to sleep in space? You go to sleep in bed and end up floating through the station to the kitchen or something."

"That doesn't even _happen_. Don't you get strapped into one of those pod things for the night? Solomon showed us once, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. ...Just saying that it'd be cool to just float in endless gravity while you're sleeping in space." He sighed dreamily, "Maybe. One day."

A comfortable silence fell between them as the star display shifted overhead and multiple constellations took their place. Apollo pulled the sheets up over his shoulders and leaned back so that his back was pressed to the floor like Clay. Apollo turned his eyes from Orion's constellation and turned on his side so he could face Clay.

"Hey."

Clay opened his eyes slowly and turned to look at Apollo, "Hm?"

Apollo let his head rest on the rugged carpet underneath and turned his eyes toward the constellations again, "…Is it weird to think that in a couple of years you'll be seeing these kinds of things in person?"

Clay laughed, "What? You mean I'll be witnessing all this stuff floating just above our atmosphere? You do realize that most of these stars are still light years away from Earth, right?"

"Yeah, but …" Apollo turned back to Clay, "…it'll be different somehow. You'll finally be floating in the infinite scope of space with none of the limitations that you find back here on Earth."

"Sounds invigorating, right?"

Apollo shrugged, "Sounds cool, but we all know where my passion lies."

"Yeah, yeah." Clay grinned, "You ready to start defending the innocence of the wrongly accused?"

"I've got a long way to go before I can do it." Apollo replied, "But… all we can do is keep dreaming now, right? Dreaming until it finally becomes a reality."

Clay nodded silently and closed his eyes again. They lapsed into silence again, side by side on their backs as the constellations rotated overhead. The sound of crickets from earlier had died out and all they were left with was the slow whirr and clicking of the projector down by their feet. The constellations shifted out and the star bespeckled sky came into view again. Just as Apollo was finding himself being lulled to sleep by the artificial night sky, Clay placed a warm hand on his shoulder and shook it.

"Hey, look up. It's you."

"What?" He opened his eyes again and titled his head back, "…The sun? …_Clay_."

"I know. It's cheesy and you've heard it before." He laughed gently, "...But, it fits you, you know?"

"What? My name?"

"…Yeah." Clay replied, moving a bit closer to Apollo's side so that they were nearly shoulder to shoulder. He looked away hesitantly and then grinned at Apollo in the dim artificial light, "You're like the sun. In some ways…" He lowered his gaze, "I mean … you always know how to brighten up _my_ day at least."

Apollo turned away from Clay and covered his face in embarrassment, "Don't say things like that."

"It's the truth."

"Mmmm, not **listening**."

"_Apollo_."

Clay rose up to pry Apollo's hands away from his face and laughed gently when Apollo turned away from him. He suspected the shorter boy was probably blushing by now, but couldn't see much in the darkness. He leaned down to nuzzle his nose into the juncture of Apollo's neck and shoulder and sighed contentedly.

"You'll never get used to me saying these types of things if you don't let me try every once in awhile." He twirled a piece of Apollo's hair between his fingers and turned to look at him in the darkness, "Just let me in a little."

"I do let you in, but I…"

"I know, it's different. Even I don't know what we're doing half the time."

"I don't expect you to. We're _sixteen_, Clay." Apollo closed his eyes and tensed slightly as Clay pressed a tentative kiss to his cheek, "...We shouldn't be doing this here."

"We've already _broken in_, Apollo. Haha, that's trouble enough already, don't you think?"

"So we break in and make out like two love sick teenagers? Was that your plan all along?"

Clay chuckled and shook his head, "No … I really wanted to get a better look at the planetarium while no one was here. But, this atmosphere kind of calls for a little more than that, don't you think?"

"No."

"_Apo—llo_."

"Don't beg." Apollo grumbled, closing his eyes again as Clay planted another kiss on his cheek. He sighed when the dark haired boy slowly migrated closer to his mouth and pressed another shy kiss close to his lips.

"…Please?" Clay slowly found one of Apollo's hands that was wound tightly in the fabric of his hoodie and held it for a minute.

"Oh … oh, _all right_. …But we should really get back after this."

Clay shifted, throwing a leg over Apollo's hips so he could straddle the smaller boy. He grinned before cupping Apollo's face in his hands and murmured softly against his lips, "You worry too much."

Apollo couldn't retort as weather chapped lips pressed against his own and rendered him mute. He could count the number of times he has kissed Clay with merely his hands. The first time had been a fluke in the summer following the end of seventh grade. They were lying awake at night, neither wanting to fall asleep first for fear of missing something important—(what, they would never know). Clay said he liked a girl—a small, mousy girl named Elizabeth from their math class—and he was determined to kiss her by the start of eighth grade. He'd never kissed a girl before… and Apollo shyly agreed to let Clay use him as practice.

The second time was when they were fourteen. It was summer again and they were in Clay's backyard, watching the starry night sky from Clay's glow in the dark tent. Things didn't work out with Elizabeth in the previous year like Clay had hoped, but he said he liked someone new. Apollo didn't quite catch on when Clay kissed him again like he had the previous summer.

The next time they kissed was at some upper class men party earlier that fall. Clay had had too much to drink again and Apollo was the one who had to lug him back home. He kissed Apollo again in complete darkness in the leather seat of the taxi that took them home.

The fourth time he kissed Apollo was three months ago in the boy's bathroom on the third floor of their high school. That was the kiss that had solidified their current relationship status, even if Apollo had been hesitant—somewhat terrified—in admitting what they truly meant to each other. He knew he was different for a long time …but he didn't realize he was _that_ kind of different.

In that three month period Clay had stolen four more kisses from him. Two in the darkness of a movie theater, one on Apollo's couch and another in the darkness of Apollo's bedroom… which had been a situation that was mirroring the one that they were currently in. And Apollo vividly remembered what had stopped them from continuing last time and it was about to interrupt them again.

There it was, pressing down into his stomach and stirring him up just like last time.

Apollo opened his eyes and pressed gently on Clay's shoulders so that he eased up, "…Clay."

"Hm?"

"…I … uhm… " Apollo shut his eyes wishing he had never opened his mouth to begin with. Why was he such a blushing virgin? "…Just …it's just that thing from before."

Clay sighed, finding his heart tugging gently with endearment for his romantically challenged …_friend_. If he had used the word boyfriend at this stage, Apollo surely would have had a stroke by now. "…_Thing_?"

Apollo turned away from Clay, feeling the urge to bury himself in his hoodie and never come out to face the world again, "Don't make me say it." Oh, he was becoming aroused. Jesus Christ, was this seventh grade health class all over again?

However, Clay merely kissed him on the forehead and lowered his head so that he was nose to nose with Apollo, "_Hey_."

Apollo opened his eyes, becoming slightly alarmed at how close Clay had become.

"It's okay, Apollo." Clay murmured into his ear, "If you're afraid, _it's okay_."

"I'm fine." Apollo said hurriedly, turning to face Clay. He wasn't a chicken despite how much Clay would tease, "I'm just…"

"_Afraid_. And it's okay." Clay repeated himself and pushed Apollo back so that he was flat on his back again, "Just let me know if I'm going too fast, okay?"

"Do you even know what you're doing?" Apollo asked, covering his eyes with his arms.

"No." Clay admitted, laughing gently, "But, we'll figure it out together, right?"

Apollo nodded wordlessly and removed his arms from over his eyes so he could look at Clay in the dim light. The sun had been replaced by the stars once again and it was almost like they were about to have sex … or whatever this was… for the first time under the night sky.

Clay was true to his word and he did go slowly. He trailed butterfly kisses down the sides of Apollo's cheeks and down to his neck, where he latched on to a tender spot underneath his neck and experimented with it for a bit. It tickled briefly, but had Apollo sighing contentedly for the few minutes that Clay spent his time there. It was as if he was drifting in and out of some type of surreal dream. He had had dreams about this …muddled ones that he could barely remember and that left him in uncomfortable positions when he woke up. He could hardly believe that it was becoming a reality.

Clay had distracted him with another kiss when he felt something pressing into his inner thigh and almost pulled away in surprise. He wasn't imagining things. That was definitely Clay poking him … _right_? Apollo almost found himself feeling delirious and beside himself. Not out of shame or embarrassment this time around … it was another feeling that he couldn't quite place.

When they pulled away, Apollo wrapped his arms around Clay's shoulders and buried his face into the fabric of Clay's shirt. Clay glanced at Apollo but didn't say anything. He took the simple change in body language as his permission to go ahead… beyond just the kissing that is.

The first press of Clay's hips into Apollo's was uncoordinated and miscalculated—as expected. The button of Clay's jeans snagged onto the belt loop of Apollo's jeans and Clay ended up jerking the two forward instead of staying on the ground. After a few seconds spent untangling themselves, Clay placed his hands firmly on either side of Apollo's head and pressed down into him again. Apollo found his heart pounding in his ears and Clay's palms were growing sweatier by the minute.

"He …hey…"

Apollo looked up at Clay as he shifted his weight back toward Apollo's thighs, "…Yeah?"

"Do you…do you mind I … you know?" Clay couldn't even meet his eyes. Christ, they were both hopeless.

Apollo nodded slowly and pushed himself up into a sitting position so he could undo his jeans. Yet, he could barely get the top button of his jeans open because his hands were shaking so badly. Clay eventually covered Apollo's hands with his own and began working the offending material down and away from his hips so that the denim pooled around his thighs. In return, Apollo undid Clay's jeans as well. They sat there for a minute unsure of what they were going to do exactly.

Apollo's voice was in his stomach and his heart beat was increasing to an erratic thump. His hands had stopped shaking after he fisted them into his hoodie, but he knew Clay was still looking at him with those same warm eyes from earlier. They were both nervous. Two nervous, blushing virgins who had absolutely no idea as to what the hell they were doing.

"I think … I think you should lie back down."

"Uhm… o... okay."

Apollo swallowed hard and shut his eyes and lay down on his back again. He heard Clay shuffle up above him as he unzipped his black track jacket and pulled it off his arms. He set the jacket off to the side and then looked back down at Apollo who was fidgeting underneath him.

"Uh… can you raise your arms?"

Apollo opened his eyes slightly, "Take this off?"

"It might get hot in—" Clay paused, turning away from Apollo and turning red at his choice of words, "It might become … uhm… uncomfortable."

Apollo didn't have to be told twice as he sat up and pulled his hoodie over his head and threw it in the same direction as Clay's track jacket. He was about to pull his shirt down as he lay back on the ground again, but Clay caught his wrist and shook his head. Clay pushed his hand away and moved forward so that he was straddling Apollo's hips again.

"Don't worry about it."

Apollo fidgeted under his gaze and found himself without anything to fiddle with. "…How is this going to work?"

"Well… you're not a girl so I can't … _you know_." Clay muttered.

"Who said you were the one doing the… _you knowing_." Apollo squawked, becoming even more flustered with the terms Clay was using. He glanced down at the space between them and turned away from Clay, "There's no way we can do it any other way."

"Not true." Clay replied, hiking his thighs around Apollo's hips and fumbled around for a minute. He angled himself slightly so that he rested his chin in the juncture between Apollo's collarbone and neck. He sighed, causing Apollo to jerk. After moving their hips slightly, Clay reached down between the two of them again and fiddled with the front of Apollo's boxers, "…How… how do you like it?"

Apollo was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating and he was in heaven. He had to have been. There was no way this could have possibly been happening right now.

"…Pollo?"

"…Don't ask me that." Apollo muttered into Clay's shoulder. He hid his face in his friend's shirt and shook his head, "…Not too …fast."

"So… slow and even?"

"_CLAY_."

"_WHAT_?" Clay asked, in a loud voice mirroring Apollo, "I'm trying to do this right here!"

Apollo shook his head, "Just … just do it. I'll tell you if you're being too rough." He pulled away briefly and realized Clay was looking at him again, "How do … you… uhm…"

"Don't worry. I got an idea." Clay arched his back and fiddled with the front of his jeans as well, "Uhm… actually, I saw this in a movie once."

"…Is that a codeword for _porn_?" Apollo asked, absolutely mortified that his best friend was using some salacious D rated internet filth as a basis for their first time.

"…It was very …educational."

"Oh my _God_."

"Apollo… just relax. _Please_?"

Apollo instinctively closed his eyes in return and sighed shakily. It was like last time … except they were a whole lot closer than before. _Just like in your dreams_, he thought to himself as Clay made his way into his boxers and pulled his hips forward. Apollo fisted his hands into the sheets, unsure of exactly where to grab at that point. He hardly imagined that his first time would be in a planetarium underneath an artificial night sky.

He dreamed of times like this. Just being close to Clay where no one could disrupt them. Most of the times his dreams were a lot more graphic than what was occurring presently. They acted as if they were carnal, raging animals who had no concept of taking things slow. Clay would literally tear through his clothes and Apollo was more than willing to do the same. Sometimes they broke a bed frame or Apollo dreamed that Clay … _rammed_ … him into the bed so hard that the headboard slammed into the wall and formed dents in the plaster. There was desperation to his dreams. Like he knew whatever was happening wasn't going to become a reality so he poured all his frustrations into whatever nonsense his subconscious conjured up for him on a nightly basis.

But… it was happening. Not exactly like he imagined. But here he was with Clay wrapped around him in the most intimate of ways doing exactly what he always envisioned—(**wanted**).

"_Ah_…"

"Crap, did I do something wrong?"

Apollo shook his head and laced his arms around Clay's neck. His skin was warm …almost comforting in a way. "…No… you didn't." He groaned into Clay's shoulder and shook his head, "You're …not. Go on."

"It's okay?" Was Clay sounding out of breath as well?

Apollo nodded silently and Clay gripped him again in his inexperienced hand. He was right; it was getting a little heated in here. Apollo instinctively rolled his hips in the rhythm of Clay's hand—(or tried to at least). It wasn't much in the beginning. Just a dull ache that had been drumming in the center of his stomach for a little while now. But now things were starting to just feel …uncomfortable and tight and he needed more. They _both_ needed more.

"What if…"

"Yeah?"

"What if we …" Apollo swallowed past the lump in his throat and bit his lip. He pulled away from Clay's shoulder and turned his head to look at the dark haired boy, "…What if you put us …together. And …moved?"

"…You mean like before?"

"Yeah, just …touching this time." _He's going to tease me mercilessly for this, I know he is._

Clay moved back again so that he balanced himself on Apollo's thighs, "I think we should just do away with the pants."

"Yeah. Yeah, I think we should, too."

After a quick interruption of pants removal, Clay was right back to what he was doing before and Apollo had turned into a more than willing participant. Third time was the charm because they finally got a rhythm going together and neither seemed to want to stop that time around. Clay kept rhythm and Apollo kept them grounded.

It wasn't long before either of the boys finally got over their initial shyness about the whole thing and the planetarium was filled with the sounds of the shifting sheets, Clay's low grunting into Apollo's neck and Apollo's uncontrolled breathing drifting into the air. All Apollo wanted was friction… slick, hot friction and the feeling of Clay pinning him and driving his pelvis down into the ground. Clay in return seemed to need a little less stimulation … there was something about their surroundings that was driving him wild … but he couldn't put a finger to it. Either way, _yeah_ …this was way better than any dream.

Apollo pulled Clay's face away from his shoulder and pulled the boy into a searing kiss which drove Clay harder to deliver and bring them both to climax. It was like a tightly wound coil being pushed down with an immense amount of pressure that it sprang back at full force. Apollo came first, eyes screwed shut and a loud moan forming in the back of his throat which Clay quickly muffled. He came a few seconds later and rested his forehead against Apollo's. This was one instance when being loud didn't have an advantage and they didn't need to wake the whole space center.

_Wow_. Was all Apollo could think, but could barely vocalize.

"…_Wow_." Clay said it for him and sighed.

"…I'm really sticky." He groaned, moving his legs. He would be making an immediate beeline for the laundry room once he got home in the morning.

"Jeez, Apollo. Way to ruin the moment." Clay laughed, nuzzling his nose against Apollo's.

"Sorry…" Apollo sighed, "I mean, wow."

"Not so bad for a first time, right?" Clay asked.

_Besides mortifying, awkward, weird and_—Apollo shook his head, "No… it was … it was fine."

"Just fine?" Clay asked, "Ouch, guess I'll have to do better next time, huh?"

Apollo shook his head again, "No, I mean. It—"

"Calm down, Apollo. Jeez, you'd think you'd know by now when I was teasing you, huh?" Clay laughed, "…I hate to have us going so soon, but I really think we should get out of here. I've, uh … I think this type of stuff _does_... things to me."

"Huh?" Apollo raising his eyebrows.

"…Weird things." Clay murmured to himself. _Arousing things_. He turned to Apollo, "Here, put your stuff on and we can get going."

They got ready after fumbling around as they looked for their clothing. Apollo took the blankets up in his arms once they got to their feet and Clay took hold of the flashlight. Apollo held onto his hand as before as he led them through the darkness, out of the planetarium and into the main corridor again. After a few minutes of walking, they were back in the safety of their room, exhausted and ready to go to sleep.

Clay was a little surprised, but glad all the while when Apollo rolled into bed bedside him on the lower bunk. He got in, squishing the smaller boy against the wall and threw the blankets over them like they had been in the planetarium.

"…That was nice." Apollo murmured sleepily, resting his head on Clay's shoulder.

"So you're saying my idea was good then… right?"

"Perhaps in some ways."

Clay grinned, "…Maybe we'll go again when it's open to the public and see the full show?"

"I … don't think I'll be able to look at that planetarium again in the same way."

Apollo was probably blushing. _Small steps, Terran. He's going to need to take baby steps._ "Ha, maybe you're right." He turned on his side and threw an arm over Apollo's shoulders so he could pull the sheets up, "…At any rate, good night, Apollo."

"M'night…"

Apollo was practically asleep and Clay was headed there too… until he decided he had to have one last final word.

"Apollo."

"Mmm?"

"How about next time … we actually do it under the real night sky?"

"Clay... _go_ to sleep."

"But, Apollo-"

"_SLEEP_."


End file.
